Weak kneed Wednesday

Today's Short but Sweet Tracking

Last week when I rode my recumbent 2-wheeler I broke my front gear ring shifter cable, leaving it in granny gear for almost the entire ride.
Since then, I've been busily installing fake hardwood flooring in our RV amongst other honey-dew projects, and haven't found the time to fix the cable and ride the bike again.
Today dawned nice and sunny, so I decided to see if I could get the shifter cable replaced and get in at least a short but huff-puff ride to the Post Office and back.
When shifter cables break around here, they almost always break back at the farthest end, right where they flex back and forth as shifting is accomplished.  The tandem and the 2-wheel recumbent both use the longest super-long cable, and I keep a brand new one in a package in the pannier wherever and whenever I ride.  I always save the used cable for use in shorter cabling requirements, such as today when I needed a shortie for the front shift mechanism requiring maybe 2 feet of cable.  I mistakenly threw away the used FRONT cable thinking I'd not soon find a use for such a short one.  More on that later....
Just about the time I got the cable replaced and the tools put away, Jacque returned from her morning mission and we decided we'd take a tandem ride together instead of me doing the usual solo on the 2-wheeler.  We rode up towards the Post Office.  As we passed the newly-finished Eagle project (Bike trail shelter) I noticed someone had parked an official looking truck in front of it and the driver was sitting inside on the bench reading a paper.  I assumed he was some bureaucrat or another taking a noon rest break.
Just a bit further, huffing and puffing up the long hill in Grandma Gear, we were ashamed to be overtaken by a smart aleck on foot....

We finally got to the Post Office, got the junk mail and bills, and then rode up the next quarter-mile to the erstwhile Shell Bike-break station, used also by area motorists for a gas stop.  After a soda and popcorn break for Jacque and an Ice Cream Sandwich break for me, we spotted a weird looking antique car near a gas pump.  Not recognizing what kind of car it was, we turned toward them to ask about their ride.  The driver and passenger were dressed up in old time riding clothes, leather jackets, helmets, goggles, etc, and they proudly informed us their ride was a Bentley, a long good looking monster.

They wanted to know all about OUR ride, too, so we happily chatted about our respective unusual conveyances.  The Bentley was stock, with a 400 cubic inch straight-eight that purred like a kitten when they started it and drove away.  Our trike doesn't purr..... it clicks and rattles occasionally, especially when the chain needs oiling, and the wheeziing and gasping for air while climbing hills is nothing to brag about.
We planned to stop at the new Bike Path Shelter Eagle Project on the way back, but as we approached it, we saw the same official vehicle.  Two guys were DIGGING at the FOUNDATION posts, trying to remove the shelter!  I was ready to rant & rave by the time we rolled up.

These "guys" turned out to be part of the Eagle project crew, and they WERE removing the new shelter.... to move it a few feet farther back away from the path, so as to be out from under the overhead power lines.  So instead of complaining, we helped a bit, then rode on for home so we could come back with tools to help.

Ride Started: 12:57 PM    Ride Ended:  2:34 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.2   Ending Voltage: 13.1  Lowest:  12.1
Lowest Temp  67 F      Highest Temp:  82 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  4.29
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  2.8 MPH                              5.5 MPH                  28.9 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
1 hour 33 minutes                  46 minutes                 46  minutes